Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 1023 Flowers and Leaves

The temple of Yunzhongjun still stands.

At the market, many vendors were selling masks of Yun Zhongjun in various styles.

Yun Zhongjun even saw some masks of demon gods, which were also openly sold in the market.

Furthermore, the number of people wearing various masks in this market is countless—no one knows what they look like under those masks.

Walking down this street, there were a full twelve "Lord of the Clouds" who brushed past him.

Beneath the mask of the Lord of the Clouds, there are mortals, cultivators, and demons.

"I never imagined that the people of Chu would be so nostalgic." Seeing this scene, the White Tiger Supervisor God couldn't help but sigh.

"Fellow Daoist, you have not manifested your divine power in the mortal realm for over ten thousand years. Under such circumstances, the people of Chu still treat you with such reverence."

"The people of Chu are just nostalgic," Yun Zhongjun said with a smile. "Take that one in the heavens, for example. He has never manifested his divine power even once, but look at the masks everywhere. Which family doesn't still place them in the highest position?"

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the temple dedicated to the Lord of the Clouds.

The temple is not grand, but it possesses a serene and solemn atmosphere that has been refined over time.

The smooth, polished bluestone steps silently bear witness to the devout footsteps of countless believers.

The two vermilion-lacquered, mottled temple doors were open, and the interior was dimly lit, with faint, indistinct chanting coming from within.

Just then, three figures emerged from the temple.

The first person was a middle-aged man, whose hempen short jacket had faded from washing, and there was an inconspicuous pudding on his shoulder.

His face was dark, and his brows were tightly furrowed, as if carved by an invisible knife of sorrow, leaving deep furrows.

He carefully helped the woman beside him, whose face was also weathered, with graying temples and pale lips, and who was holding a small girl tightly in her arms.

The girl was about five or six years old, as thin as the last withered leaf clinging to a branch in the autumn wind.

Her small face was so pale it was devoid of any color, and her deep-set eyes made her eyes appear exceptionally dark, yet also exceptionally large and very expressive.

Her breathing was extremely light, so faint that it seemed as if it would stop at any moment. Each inhale caused her small chest to rise and fall violently, like a dying fledgling.

This looks like a congenital deficiency, a congenital condition that is extremely difficult to cure—even ordinary immortals and gods cannot make up for this congenital deficiency.

On his head was a white flower that he had picked from who-knows-where. Originally, there was a pair of white flowers, one on the left and one on the right of his head, but now there was only one left. The other one had been offered to the 'Lord of the Clouds' in the temple.

“Girl,” the man’s voice was hoarse as he bent down and whispered in the girl’s ear, his voice almost humbly coaxing, “Just now in front of the God, what did you say to the God in your heart? Your parents were praying to the God to bless you so that you would get better and be healthy…”

"Did you ask the gods to protect you?"

"Do you want Dad to take you to beg again?"

The woman hugged her daughter tightly, nodded silently, and stared intently at her daughter's lifeless face, as if trying to squeeze a trace of color out of that paleness.

Clearly, this impoverished family of three had traveled this far specifically to save their daughter from her incurable congenital illness, placing their last remaining hope in this ancient, silent temple. They came with an almost desperate devotion, asking for nothing more than for their daughter to live.

Yun Zhongjun's steps came to a silent halt in front of the family of three, as did the White Tiger Supervisor God beside him.

The two deities' gazes fell upon the little girl, who was on the verge of death from illness. Their gazes pierced through her mortal body and saw the root of her congenital defect—a faint flame of life, almost extinguished at any moment, flickering painfully.

If it weren't for the presence of the White Tiger Guardian God, Yun Zhongjun would almost have casually picked up a wisp of incense burning in the temple to listen to the subtle tremors of the child's heart.

Listen to what this little girl wished for.

"Mother..." The little girl curled up in the crook of her mother's neck, her voice as thin as a spider's thread, as if it might snap at any moment.

Her eyes, made especially sensitive by her illness, timidly gazed at the bustling world outside the temple gate, then laboriously turned her head to look through the half-open temple door at the clay-sculpted, golden statue of a deity in the dark depths inside.

"It's so lively outside..." she mumbled indistinctly, laboriously raising her little finger to point to the endless stream of people and the clamor of vendors outside the door, her eyes revealing pure longing.

Then, her pure black eyes turned to the statue of the deity in the shadows of the temple, filled with a childlike pity. "I see the deity... sitting there all day... looking so lonely... and no one dares... dares to talk to him..." Her small chest heaved with difficulty, and she pressed her earlobe against her mother's cold earlobe, uttering a weak but clear wish: "I want... him to go out and see... the excitement..."

The sound was faint as dust, mingled with the clamor of the crowd, and almost inaudible.

But Yun Zhongjun and Baihu Jianbing Shenjun are such great gods, how could they not hear that voice?

The divine heart that had been sealed away for millennia in the Cloud Abode, and the heart of a wandering man who was completely indifferent to the changes in the world, trembled once again because of this child's thought that asked for nothing and came entirely from the heart of a child.

It was a strange feeling, so distant it had been forgotten, like the gentle ripples of an ancient well.

Yun Zhongjun's gaze lingered on the child's pale face for a long time, his unfathomable eyes seeming to hold drifting clouds and floating stars.

The heart that had remained unmoved for millennia was pried open by these innocent and unintentional words.

"Ah..." A very soft and faint sigh rang out.

That sigh carried an indescribable tenderness, like the first drop of spring water falling when the last snow melts in early spring.

"What a good child." Yun Zhongjun said, raising his hand and breaking off a green branch from somewhere, its vitality stretching far and wide.

Then, with another flick of his sleeve, the green wooden branch turned into dust.

Immediately afterwards, a gentle breeze swept by, and the wood powder was carried by the wind and swallowed by the little girl with each breath.

"Jianmu?" Baihu Jianbing Shenjun raised an eyebrow—how could she not recognize Jianmu?

Jianmu grew on Shizhou Island—that was her and Ao Bing's separate residence.

There, she practically watched as the Jianmu tree lifted up the Forty-Nine Heavenly Palace, growing little by little.

"Don't misunderstand." The next instant, Yun Zhongjun's voice rang out.

“This Jianmu tree was not something I picked from the Ten Islands.”

"Instead, when the people of Huangtiandao were searching for the Jianmu tree, they somehow obtained this broken branch, which was then stolen by cultivators from Chu."

"In the end, the person who stole the branches and leaves of the Jianmu tree offered them to the Cloud Cave Heaven in a sacrificial ceremony."

Yun Zhongjun recounted the origin of the branch of Jianmu he held.

"The Jianmu tree is a tree that supports the sky, and its branches and leaves are treasures even to you and me."

"Using something like this to fill a child's congenital deficiency would surely be seen by others as a waste of resources."

The Jianmu tree is a towering tree, incredibly stable. If the Jianmu tree moves even slightly, the entire Forty-Nine Heavens Palace will sway accordingly. Even for Ao Bing, breaking off a branch from the Jianmu tree would not be an easy task.

According to the method of measurement used by the God of Finance, the value of this branch of the Jianmu tree is thousands or even tens of thousands of times greater than the life of an ordinary mortal girl.

Even ordinary Taiyi cultivators are not as valuable as a section of Jianmu tree branch that still carries life.

"This was originally obtained from the people of Chu, and now it is being used to save a person from Chu. It is a perfect match." Yun Zhongjun did not care at all.

"I never imagined that Lord Yunzhong would be such a compassionate person," sighed Lord Baihu Jianbing.

"She made a wish to let me step out of the cave, and now I have really stepped out of the cave."

"Furthermore..." Yun Zhongjun pointed again, and the white flower beneath the golden body fell onto his fingertip.

She gave me a flower, and I returned a leaf to her.

"Isn't every sip and every bite predetermined?"

"What was that saying again? This is the will of Heaven, how can it be confused with so-called benevolence?"

Yun Zhongjun's voice carried a mysterious rhythm, like the wind blowing through ancient chimes.

At this moment——

A strange bird song pierced through the bustling crowd, clear and melodious like the clinking of jade stones.

A bird, pure white and without a single blemish, like a fleeting dream, glided lightly over the crowd and gracefully landed on the ground in front of Yun Zhongjun.

However, just before its claws touched the dust, the white bird's form suddenly disintegrated, turning into a wisp of milky white smoke, like mist or gauze, rising gently and disappearing into nothingness in an instant.

This strange scene unfolded in the bustling market, yet no one paid any attention, as if the white bird was merely a fleeting illusion under the sunlight.

Yun Zhongjun remained unmoved, simply extending his right hand with his fingers slightly curled and palm facing upward.

The wisp of milky white smoke that was about to completely dissipate seemed to be summoned by an invisible force, instantly freezing, and then, like a weary bird returning to its forest, it quickly gathered and flowed back, condensing again above his warm palm into a small, ever-changing cloud of smoke and dust.

Amidst the smoke, faint, extremely subtle sounds of shamanic chants, perceptible only to deities, echoed, carrying an innate, tender, and lingering quality.

It was a message sent by the Goddess of Wushan.

The Goddess of Wushan is a mythical figure representing the spirit of witches in the human world—symbolizing the beauty and passion between heaven and earth.

In fact, it was precisely because of the influence of this myth that Wu Ling was so clear-headed in front of Yun Zhongjun that she dared not easily seek him out.

After all, the myth she carries is certainly easy to attract criticism.

"It's quite strange that the witch spirit took the initiative to send me a message."

Yun Zhongjun brushed aside the clouds and smoke, and the message sent by the witch spirit flowed before his eyes.

"Soap Song," Yun Zhongjun said with some emotion.

Hearing this name, Li Nu's heart stirred.

She was familiar with this name.

When Ao Bing killed the First Emperor, it was Li Nu who, with unfathomable supernatural powers, projected Ao Bing's incarnation to the Southern Continent. Guided by Zao Ge and witnessed by countless demon gods in the Southern Continent, she hunted down one of them.

In this way, the movements of Ao Bing's true form were completely concealed—which gave Ao Bing the foundation to kill the First Emperor.

“The witch spirit sent a letter saying that Zaoge begged her to intercede for him, wanting to return to the Cloud Cave Heaven.”

Yun Zhongjun said.

He did not hide the news about the Zaoge from the White Tiger Supervisor God in front of him.

Yun Zhongjun himself didn't care much about Zaoge's request.

Whether he returns to the Cloud Cave Heaven or continues to remain in the Southern Continent, it makes no difference to Lord Yunzhong.

—Yun Zhongjun possesses a genuine, ancient demeanor, close to that of a primordial god, where all things flow freely without lingering in his heart.

"It sounds like you don't intend to accept Zaoge, fellow Daoist. In that case, how about leaving this matter to me?" Li Nu's heart stirred slightly.

Zaoge is a demon god and a demon king in the Southern Continent. Her demon kingdom is located at the foot of the Flaming Mountain, next to Princess Rakshasa.

Princess Rakshasa, as the Daoist partner of the current leader of the demon race, the Bull Demon King, holds a rather special position within the demon race.

When the calamity of this massacre sweeps across Jambudvipa, it will inevitably reach Princess Rakshasa and the Flaming Mountain.

And this is clearly another crucial juncture that can lead to a deadly calamity.

"Very well." Yun Zhongjun nodded, also thinking of the connection with Baihu Jianbing Shenjun.

He immediately handed a mark to the White Tiger Supervisor God.

"When the God saw Zaoge, he simply told her that her final destination was not in the Cloud Cave Heaven."

"Then I'll accept another favor from you, Divine Lord." The White Tiger Supervisor Divine Lord took the Cloud Lord's seal, and his heart stirred once more.

Ao Bing has two of the most famous incarnations in this world—incarnations he achieved before he reached the Great Luo realm.

Moreover, both of these incarnations have considerable fame in the world and have both caused certain changes in the situation of the world.

Li Nu was very knowledgeable about Ao Bing's Azure Dragon incarnation.

After all, she herself was the White Tiger Supervisor God, and the Azure Dragon was the deity opposite her among the Four Symbols.

Moreover, when they were on the island of Shizhou, the Azure Dragon's 'true form' would often perch on the Jianmu tree, using it as a gate.

However, Li Nu knew very little about Ao Bing's incarnation as "Lord of the Clouds".

Especially now, as she travels through the mortal realm with Yun Zhongjun, traversing the land of Chu, and witnessing all of Yun Zhongjun's deeds, Li Nu feels increasingly unfamiliar with the 'Yun Zhongjun' before her!
As one of Ao Bing's incarnations, Yun Zhongjun's existence is almost the complete opposite of Qinglong's.

Even Li Nu couldn't be sure whether the Cloud Lord before her was truly an incarnation created by Ao Bing through a fortuitous encounter, or an ancient being who walked between heaven and earth under the guise of Ao Bing's incarnation.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the Heart of Humanity." After exchanging the flowers and leaves, and receiving this message from Zaoge, Yunzhongjun was immediately disheartened.

(End of this chapter)